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THE 



French lEroiiEE ^umm 



IN THE 



United States 



Reaj^ Before The 
nmerican Catholic Historical Society of Phi 

ON FEBRUARY 23, 1886. 



ia, 



BY 



IvAWRKNCK Francis Klick 



?V\\\.K\^^L?V\\l\-. 



THK 



FRENCH REFUGEE TRAPPISTS 



IN THE 



United States 



Read Before The 
American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, 

ON FEBRUARY 23, 1886. ___ 




IvAWRKNCE KRANCIS KIvICK:. 



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cicrpy^ 



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^^^<^,o<^ 



l^e ^^nench l^efugee Tpappists 



ir) • t^ . Llr)ife0. • ^f^ii^s. 



^VER since the rules of St. Benedict had birth in the piety 
'^ and wisdom of that great and holy man, they have, in 
some form or other, drawn men from the world and 
impregnated their lives with sanctity and wisdom. Time 
and the perversity of man's inclinations might occasionally relax 
them, but only to again give them champions, such as St. Ber- 
nard in 910, St. Robert in 1098, and Armand Jean Le Bout- 
hillier de Ranee in 1664. 

The name, Les Trappistes, came about in this way. In 11 22 
a French count, Routrou of Perch, made what he believed to be 
a miraculous escape from some great danger. Out of gratitude 
to the blessed Virgin, to whom he ascribed his preservation, he 
vowed to build a church and to place it under her patronage. 
He fulfilled his vow by building a church in a solitary valley, 
surrounded by dense forests and in a spot where a number of 
streams come together and form the river Yton. This place has 
from time immemorial been called La Trappe. When therefore, 
the good Count Routrou afterwards brought monks from Savigny, 
and established a monastery for them near his church, they were 
given the name Les Trappistes. 

It w.as here, at La Trappe, that the monks, having gradually 
forgotten the rigor of their rules, were reminded of it by the 
saintly Abbe de Ranee. He had just about fully established his 
reform when he was called to his reward ; but his good work went 
on until it was disturbed by the French revolution. 

(3) 



On February 13th, 1790, all religious orders in France were 
suppressed by a legislative act of the French government. There 
was, however, too much of the spirit of St. Benedict, St. Bernard, 
St. Robert, and an Abbe de Ranee at La Trappe, to be dispersed 
by a mere edict. Dom Augustine, one of the priests of La 
Trappe, resolved, since he could not keep his vows in his native 
land, to establish his Order in some other. With twenty-three of 
his brethren, all volunteers like himself, he formally applied to 
various governments for an Asylum. He received a favorable 
answer from the Senate of Friborg, which, on April 12th, 1791, 
granted him permission to establish a home in Switzerland. The 
twenty-four monks signed a covenant, forming the Abbey of Val 
Sante de Notre Dame de La Trappe on April 26th, and elected 
Dom Augustine, Abbot, on May 3d of the same year. The 
election, however, was not confirmed, nor the Abbey formally 
established by Rome, until November 27th, 1794. By this time 
so many recruits had flocked in, that several new houses had gone 
out from Val Sante, and had sought asylums in different parts of 
Europe. 

One of the day dreams of Dom Augustine, from his first arrival 
at Val Sante, had been to send a colony to America. Twice he 
essayed it, but each time the colony was providentially located 
elsewhere. In 1793, Dom Jean Baptiste departed for Canada 
with some companions. When he got to Brabant he was so 
earnestly implored by the people to remain, that he sought the 
permission of his Superior, and established a house there. In 
April, 1794, a large number of recruits were sent to Brabant, 
with the understanding that a colony was to start from there for 
Canada. An attempt to carry out the proviso was made in July 
of the same year, when Jean Baptiste again started for Canada 
with several companions, this time by way of England. A pious 
Englishman, by name of Thomas Weld, offered him a location on 
his land at Lulworth, Dorcestershire, and pressed him to accept. 
Again Dom Jean sought permission to depart from his instructions 
and located his colony in England. 

Meanwhile the Order grew so rapidly that Dom Augustine had 
considerable difficulty in supplying Asylums for the outgrowths. 
Already flourishing off-shoots from Val Sante, existed in Spaip, 
Italy, Holland and England. But persecution went hand in hand 



with success ; no sooner were colonies established than the far- 
reaching influence of the revolution again routed them, and new 
asylums had to be sought. Russia promised a safe retreat, and 
in 1796, quite a large colony took refuge under its neutrality. It 
proved a poor asylum, and in 1800, after the monks of Val Santa 
had sought shelter in its dominions, on account of outrages 
committed upon their Abbey, all Trappists were expelled from 
the country by a Ukase. 

This revived in Dom Augustine the great desire to establish 
his Order in America. For nearly two years he confided it to his 
own bosom, striving meanwhile to find homes for his persecuted 
brethren. Some were sent to England, some were received by 
brethren in Germany, and many went back to Val Sante, whither 
they were invited by the Senate of Friborg in 1802. America 
w^as not forgotten ; as soon as affairs were somew^hat settled, Dom 
Augustine confided to his brethren his long cherished hope and 
desire. His enthusiasm fell not on barren soil. Pere Urban 
Guillet, one of the original covenanters of Val Sante, a man of 
great piety and zeal, but evidently possessing little worldly 
wisdom, craved permission to undertake the difficult task. The 
chief obstacle in the way was the lack of funds ; but great as this 
obstacle might appear to others, it dwindled into insignificance in 
the presence of Pere Urban' s faith and zeal. Having obtained 
permission, he at once proceeded to select his companions, and 
to seek the means. He had no difficulty in procuring the former; 
the latter he got in spite of difficulties. 

On January i6th, 1803, after about two years' preparation, his 
colony came together at Amsterdam, preparatory to setting sail. 
At first, it consisted of five priests, including Pere Urban, six 
lay -brothers and eight students ; but before departure the number 
was augmented to twenty-two by the arrival of more members of 
the Order. This number was too small for the zeal of Pere 
Urban ; knowing that " the vineyard of the Lord was large," in 
America, and the "laborers therein few," he conceived the idea of 
taking with him a number of young men and educating them for 
the priesthood. He had no difficulty in securing young men in 
Amsterdam, as many were seeking an opportunity to get to 
America ; but, unfortunately, he was no student of human nature, 
and many "tares were gathered in," with a little wheat. When 



his Superior, Dom Augustine, came to see him and his colony 
off, he remarked that he did not Hke the looks of these young 
men ; poor Pere Urban was astonished, but it was not long until 
he discovered the meaning of his Superior's words. 

The colony, consisting of forty people, set sail on May 29th, 
and arrived at Baltimore on September 4th, 1803. The voyage 
was long and full of hardships, as the provisions ran short, though 
Pere Urban had laid in a special store for his people, and for two 
months all persons on board had to subsist on two ounces of 
bread each a day. At Baltimore they were kindly received by 
M. Nagot, to whom Pere Urban had a letter of introduction, and 
were comfortably quartered and well entertained at the Sulpician 
College. But in spite of the kind reception, Pere Urban' s first 
day in America was a sad one. Two of his Amsterdam proteges, 
and one of his own flock, who had been tainted on the way over, 
took advantage of the confusion in going from the ship to the 
College, and deserted. Pere Urban now understood the unfavor- 
able comments of his Superior. 

The faculty of the Sulpician College strove to make their 
visitors welcome, and even offered them a permanent home in the 
College. Rev. Father Moranvillers, a parish priest of Baltimore, 
supplemented these good offices by raising money for them among 
his.parishoners ; but Pere Urban, fearing that he and his brethren 
might be in the way and prove a burden, expressed a desire to 
depart. Accordingly, after a stay of some weeks at the College, 
he, by the advice of the Sulpicians, started with his colony for 
Pigeon Hills, Adams Co., Pennsylvania. 

Of the trip there is no record, but it was likely made on foot, 
and over bad roads. The distance is fifty miles, to travel which, 
it must have taken them three or four days. The Sulpicians and 
Father Moranvillers, sent wagon loads of food along, and 
probably also some furniture. 

There is considerable difference of opinion in regard to the 
time of arrival of the Trappists at Pigeon Hills. Father Lamden 
says they first went to Cambria Co., Pennsylv^ania, and from there 
to Pigeon Hills. In this, he is undoubtedly mistaken. Arch- 
bishop Spalding, both in his "Catholic Missions of Kentucky," 
and in his ''Sketches of life, times and character of Bishop 
Flaget," gives August 15th, 1804, as the time. Rev. Father 



Maes, probably copying from Archbishop Spalding-, gives the 
same date. 

Gaillardin,* who is the best authority to follow, as he wrote 
carefully and deliberately, and was probably acquainted with 
some of the monks, who belonged to the colony, and afterwards 
returned to Europe, and likewise had at his command the 
memoirs written by Fathers Maria Joseph and Vincent de Paul, 
says they stopped with the Sulpicians at the College some 
weeks, and then went to Pigeon Hills. His reference to their 
gathering wild fruits and nuts for food upon their arrival, is 
evidence that they went there in autumn. Probably the correct 
time therefore is October, 1803. 

Pigeon Hills t is the name given to a tract of land in the eastern 
portion of Adams Co., Pennsylvania, near the foot of Pigeon 
Hills, in Oxford Township. It Is about ten miles from Gettysburg 
and about four or five from Conewago. Another name given to 
It, and probably a more familiar one, is the Seminary farm. This 
sobriquet it earned by its having been, at various times, the 
location of the Seminary School. Even as far back as 1794, 
some young men got their prelirninary education there. The 
farm is quite large and originally consisted of two tracts, one 
granted to Henry Gearnhardt, on July 26th, 1750, by the Pro- 
prietaries of Pennsylvania, and the other to Robert Lorlmore, on 
September 19th, of the same year. On September 19th, 1758, 
Lorlmore purchased Mr. Gearnhardt's tract, and on April 4th, 
1794, he sold the two tracts to a reputed monk by name of Joseph 
Heront, for 1000 pounds. Mr. Heront opened a school on his 
farm, but was probably not very successful, for after a few years 
he took his departure for France, leaving his property to the 
Superior of the Sulpician College at Baltimore. At least one of 
his pupils, a Mr. Myers, afterwards became a Catholic Priest. 

The Trappists, according to Gaillardin, found a comfortable and 
commodious house awaiting them at Pigeon Hills. As it was 
Fall, and a Winter and Spring would have to ensue before they 

* In preparing this paper, I have taken much of my information from 
Gaillardin's work, entitled " Le Trappistes," published in Paris. 

t ]Most of my information about Pigeon Hills I have taken from John 
G. Reilly's History of Catholicity in Adams County. 



could reap the fruits of their labor on the farm, they had for the 
time being to depend for the necessaries of life upon the Sulpi- 
cians and Father Moranvillers, who kept sending corn, flour and 
dried fruits from Baltimore. To economize the charity of their 
friends, they gathered wild fruits and nuts from the adjacent 
woods, and tried in a certain measure to subsist on them. They 
prepared some ground, and in the Spring planted an acre of corn, 
three little patches of potatoes, and a garden. The students gave 
great trouble ; they would not work on the plea that they had to 
study, and likewise would not study. 

On them Gaillardine lays the blame for the failure of the settle- 
ment at Pigeon Hills. They were not only^non-producers, but 
consumed everything they could lay their hands on. The poor 
monks could do nothing with them ; they would not expel them 
because they had brought them to a strange country and felt in 
conscience bound to support them. 

Of the daily routine life of either the students or the monks, 
Gaillardin makes no mention. Much, however, can be supplied by 
the imagination. His reference to the complete insubordination 
of the students during the absence of Pere Urban ; their feasting 
upon meats and vegetables ; their sports and games ; and the 
patient submissiveness of the monks ; gives us glimpses which we 
can use as corner-stones, so to speak, whereon to build fuller 
descriptions. 

Students are proverbial for their jolly times. Place them 
where you will, they will try to enjoy themselves. Situated as 
were the searchers after lore at Pigeon Hills, they no doubt held 
high carnival. Short study hours and long sleeping hours, few 
prayers and many meals, hunting, fishing, games and gymnastics, 
is the programme that naturally suggests itself to one's mind in 
trying to picture their probable daily life. 

The monks of course followed their rules, '^ and therefore lived 
as all other Trappist monks live. They observed perpetual 
silence except when it was necessary to speak with the Superior. 
They arose at half-past two in the morning, Father Nerinx says 
at one, and retired at seven in the evening during Winter, and at 
eight during Summer. They took two meals a day between 

* I give here the Trappists' rules as observed at Val Sante. 



Easter and the middle of September, ard one meal a day during 
the remainder of the year. When two meals a day were allowed, 
one was taken at twelve o'clock, noon, and the other in the" even- 
ing. When only one meal a day was permitted, it was taken 
about three o'clock in the afternoon. The usual quantity of 
bread given each monk was one pound a day ; but at the discre- 
tion of the Superior, an additional ration might be granted of a 
kind of bread made of three parts of potatoes and twelve parts 
of bran, called the bread of indulgence. In Summer, when hard 
manual labor had to be performed, fresh vegetables were added 
to the diet. Water was the only drink permissible to the healthy. 
A beverage made of wild or dried fruits, barley or juniper berries, 
was at the option of* the sick. They w^orked from half-past five 
to half-past eight in the morning, and from a little before two to 
half-past four in the afternoon, during the Summer ; and from nine 
to half-past eleven in the morning, and from twelve to two in the 
afternoon, during Winter. During Lent they began work at half- 
past nine. The intervals between the working hours were de- 
voted to chanting the office, meditation, and probably to teaching. 
They dressed in a white habit, a garment in shape something like 
a Roman toga, and w^ore a cowl, w^hich, when occasion required, 
was used as a covering for the head. They slept in apartments 
in common ; the priests in one, and the lay-brothers in another, 
and when they could afford it, had each a straw mattress, a 
bolster, and a sheet to lie upon and a blanket to cover themselves 
with. 

This is a synopsis of the ordinary life of a Trappist, and if we 
substract a little from the privileges and add a little to the depri- 
vations related therein, we will likely get a proximate idea of the 
every- day life of the Trappists at Pigeon Hills. An anecdote 
related by Gaillardin illustrates their poverty and self-denial : A 
priest from Conewago, seeing the steward distribute bread for 
supper, expressed surprise at the smallness of the portions. 
"Sir!" said the steward to him, "this bread is very good and 
most nourishing; it is not necessary to give so much of it." 
" My Rev. Father,'' responded the priest, " you will change your 
mind about that ; it is not here like in Europe ; weights and 
measures are not known here." 

As far as we know, the principal events that broke in upon the 



lO 



austere sameness of the monks during their stay at Pigeon Hills, 
were the to and fro journeyings of Pere Urban to Baltimore, his 
preliminary trip to Kentucky, and according to Father Nerinx, 
the occasional trip of the Monastery wagon to Baltimore and 
return. Pere Urban must have spent much of his time on the 
road and in Baltimore. He there met many of the missionary 
priests of the country, and there probably first heard of Kentucky. 
The description he got of that country placed it uppermost in his 
mind, and he became enthused in the idea of removing his colony 
thither. He, however, first visited it, taking with him Brother 
Placide and a native of the country as interpreter. The lovely 
appearance of Kentucky in Spring-time, and the persuasive 
appeals of Father Badin, who wanted more priests in his field of 
labor, joined hands with the zeal of Pere Urban in blinding him 
to the great obstacles in the way of removing a community so 
great a distance, over bad roads and through thinly settled 
districts, and to the drawbacks which the contemplated new home 
itself presented. He was not long in making up his mind to 
locate in Kentucky, and at once returned for his colony, leaving 
Brother Placide behind to make some desirable preparations. 

In the absence of any reference to sickness or death in the 
colony by any of the writers on the subject, we may conclude 
that its members enjoyed good health while at Pigeon Hills. 
This, unfortunately, cannot be said of them in locations sub- 
sequently chosen by Pere Urban. In the face of this fact, and in 
the light of our knowledge of the failure of all his later settle- 
ments, we may safely say that he had better remained at Pigeon 
Hills. One of his principal reasons for leaving was the inability 
of the community to support itself there. This, however, cannot 
be charged to the place, but must go. to the debit side of Pere 
Urban's qualifications as a leader. There was plenty of good land 
to farm, and there were enough men in the community to till it ; 
all that was wanting was a practical head. Besides the Sulpicians 
and Father Moranvillers seem to have been willing to help the 
Institution along until it was able to take care of itself 

The colony, when it came to Pigeon Hills, probably consisted 
of twenty-one monks and sixteen lay-people. Gaillardin says 
that twenty-two members of the order, priests and lay-brothers, 
and eighteen lay-men, students and workmen, came over from 



II 

France. One lay-brother and two lay-men deserted upon their 
arrival at Baltimore. It is not likely that the order got any 
recruits during the short stay at the Sulpician College, though it 
is on record that at least one of the students felt a call to join it. 
In his life of Bishop Flaget, of Kentucky, Rt. Rev. M, J. Spalding 
states that the then young candidate for Holy Orders looked upon 
the arrival of the Trappists in Baltimore as a stroke of Providence 
in his bebalf, and applied to Rev. Urban Guillet for admission 
into the Order but for some reason or other did not avail himself 
of the favorable answer received. While at Pigeon Hills the 
membership of the community was considerably increased. 
Gaillardin says that the ranks of the renegades, who were fright- 
ened away at the prospects of a trip west, were more than filled 
by new-comers. Who these novices were would now be interest- 
ing to know ; the only individual spoken of by Gaillardin in this 
connection is an old planter from San Domingo, who having lost 
his reason, was taken in by Pere Urban, and by the kind treat- 
ment of the monks and the novel, quiet life, was restored to 
health. Father Nerinx,* in one of his letters, speaks of meeting, 
in the migration west, as a member ol the order, Father Charles 
Guny, a former Benedictine, and his traveling companion across 
the ocean. Yet these are but two. In the same letter, Father 
Nerinx, referring to the departure of the colony from Pigeon 
Hills and their trip through Pennsylvania, says " the caravan con- 
sisted of thirty-seven persons, seven or eight of whom were 
priests." If his figures are correct the recruits just about filled 
the ranks of the disaffected. How long the Trappists remained 
at Pigeon Hills, is a mooted question. Rev. Father Maes and 
Hon. Benj. J. Webb, say one year. Gaillardin gives July, 1805, 
as the time of departure from Pigeon Hills ; and Rev. M. J. 
Spalding, the Fall of 1805 as the time of arrival in Kentucky. 
Rev. Father Nerinx, who accompanied them through Pennsyl- 
vania, in a letter dated May 6th, 1806, gives the date of departure 
as June loth, 1805, and as he writes from personal knowledge, 
and at so short an interval after the event, he must be accepted 
as the most creditable witness. Accepting then, as the most 



*My quotations from Father Nerinx's letters are taken from Rev 
Maes' Life of Father Nerinx. 



12 

likely time of arrival, that given by Gaillardin ; and as the most 
probable time of departure, that given by Father Nerinx ; the 
stay of the Trappists at Pigeon Hills was from October, 1803, to 
June loth, 1805, or about twenty-one months. 

The casual visitor to Pigeon Hills at the present day would 
recognize in it nothing to apprise him of the part it played in the 
early Catholic history of the United States. The pious zeal of 
Heront, the plaintive midnight chant of the monks, the carnivals 
of the Dutch students in the Trappists' time, and later the youth- 
ful hilarity of the seminarians, never crystalhzed into monuments; 
and so the place must depend upon history for any distinction it 
may claim. And yet what prayers have gone up to heaven from 
there ; what penances practised ; what inspirations received ; what 
good resolutions formed ! And in antithesis how boldly stands 
out the ingratitude of those heartless adventurers, if Gaillardin 
tells truly, who shamelessly feasted while the monks were suffering 
want. I cannot help but feel, however, that the poor students 
are made scapegoats in a certain measure, for the incompetency 
of Pere Urban. No doubt they did many things which would 
not be tolerated in a well-conducted school ; but then there were 
many mitigating circumstances. Some of them likely left home 
with no higher motive than a love of adventure ; they were all 
cut off from the influence of friends and relatives ; they were 
away from civilization, so to speak ; and they had nothing to 
occupy their minds but their books and sports. Their young 
healthy bodies no doubt made frequent demands for food through 
craving appetites. Their buoyant spirits must have often over- 
flown in games and tricks. Need we wonder at cause for com- 
plaint ! What student could withstand the temptation of truancy 
for example under similar circumstances ? With an empty larder 
at home ; with fishing creeks and game forests that a king might 
envy close by ; and with poor, half-starved monks for disciplina- 
rians, what youth would not flee from the dingy, pent-up, lore- 
smelling study hall, to the free exhilarating woods as an amateur 
Nimrod or a practical admirer of Isaak Walton. 

At least all were not recalcitrant. Many of them afterwards 
braved the dangers and trials of a trip to Kentucky, Missouri, and 
Illinois, and there continued their studies under the most adverse 
circumstances. Such perseverance bespeaks a better spirit than 



13 

deflects from the contrast between austere monks and fun-loving^ 
students. 

Father Urban's order, upon his return from Kentucky, to at 
once break up camp and start for the West, was received with 
monastic submissiveness by the monks, and with commingled 
approval and disapproval by the rest of the colony. Some of 
the students sneaked off, leaving letters of explanation behind. 
Others demanded recommendations to persons in Baltimore, and 
then openly took their departure. The hired workmen blankly 
refused to go West. Under these discouraging circumstances, 
says Gaillardin, some of Pere Urban's charitable deeds "returned 
to him as bread cast upon the waters.'' It was necessary to have 
a wagon built, and as the mechanics apparently had already left, 
there was no one to build it. Pere Urban's protege, the San 
Domingo Planter, came to his relief Unaided he constructed a 
large wagon. This story, however, does not fit in with Father 
Nerinx's reference to the Monastery wagons, making trips to 
Baltimore and return, nor with his statement that on account 
of the slow progress of the four wagons through Pennsylvania ; 
he parted company with the Trappists. It may be that the 
Monastery wagon referred to by Father Nerinx was really owned 
by Sulpicians, or by Father Moranvillers, or the Trappists may 
have had three wagons, and required a fourth to convey all that 
they desired to take with them. 

The route they traveled through Pennsylvania was the old 
state or Turnpike road by way of Gettysburg, Chambersburg, 
McConnellstown, Bedford, Somerset, Union and Brownsville. 
At Brownsville they sold their horses and wagon or wagons and 
bought two flat-boats, for which they paid $12.00. On these they 
placed themselves and goods, and floated down the river to 
Pittsburg. That this is the route they took can scarcely be 
doubted. Gaillardin simply tells us that they went on foot, until 
they got to the Monongahela River, where they took flat-boats ; 
but Father Nerinx says he left them at Bedford, where he bought 
a horse and saddle for $75.00 and started ahead by himself 
Now, as the state road passed through Bedford, and as there was 
only one through road in Southern Pennsylvania at that time, 
there can be no doubt about the road they traveled. Brownsville 
was in those days a kind of port, at which most travelers west 



H 

changed their mode of travel from that by land to water. Hence, 
we may conclude, that it was there the Trappists bought their 
flat-boats. 

Probably about two weeks were required to go from Pigeon 
Hills to Brownsville. Stretches of twenty miles were made 
between camping places. When regular stopping places could 
be reached, if even by an extra effort, they put up at an inn ; but 
generally they had to content themselves with such comfort as a 
barn afforded, or as mother earth gives her children, under 
Heaven's diamond studded canopy. In addition to their usual 
diet they were allowed butter according to Father Nerinx ; and 
butter, milk and cheese, according to Gaillardin, the latter being 
the specified traveling diet. Somewhere between McConnellstown 
and Bedford their *wagon broke down, and they were detained a 
day or two. It was then that Father Nerinx became impatient, 
and after having waited for them at Bedford a day and a half, 
started ahead by himself. While traveling, silence was observed as 
far as conversation was concerned, although all had the privilege 
of talking with Father Nerinx. The office was, however, daily 
chanted and prayers were said aloud. What a ripple of wonder 
and excitement must have passed over the adjacent country, as 
this procession of white-robed monks, chanting and praying, 
leisurely moved along the highway. 

The Monongahela, to the great disappointment of Father 
Urban, did not even furnish as easy or as rapid a means of transit, 
as had the turnpike. Instead of making twenty miles a day, 
they now with difficulty covered fifteen. As the water was quite 
shallow in places the boats frequently stuck fast on sand-banks, 
and all hands had to jump out and help push them off. In this 
way they finally arrived at Pittsburg, where, owing to the neces- 
sity of making considerable change in their river out-fit, they 
remained for some days. 

The principal cause of detention was the unloading and reload- 
ing of their goods, as it was necessary to replace their small boats 
by larger ones. This exchange so drained the treasury that 
Pere Urban was afraid to venture the further expense of hiring a 
pilot and some rowers, as apparently was the custom in traveling 
on the Ohio, and with his monks, undertook the voyage, not- 
withstanding their inexperience. He, however, took the pre- 



15 

caution of informing himself about the Ohio river by interviews 
with some Pittsburgians, and as a reference for emergencies 
purchased a popular almanac in which its author claimed to 
explicitly lay down all the necessary instructions for navigating 
the Ohio. Unfortunately, what sounded nice in theory did not 
work well in practice. Fallen trees obstructed their way, sand- 
banks and whirlpools were encountered, and sometimes the 
swiftness of the current would hurl them against the bank or an 
island. On one occasion, one of the boats sprang a leak and 
rapidly began to fill. All on board became terror-stricken, and 
cried for help. Their brothers on the other boat, being too far 
away to bring them timely assistance, called to them to pull for 
the bank, which they fortunately succeeded in doing. Landed, 
they unloaded by the light of a candle, for it was now night, and 
temporarily plugged up the holes. On the following day the 
boat was thoroughly repaired and the amateur scullers again en- 
trusted it with their Hves. 

For six weeks the poorly fed monks and students rowed and 
floated down the Ohio, apparently running the gauntlet of death 
safely at every turn ; and yet gradually and surely falling into his 
clutches by constantly inhaling the poisonous effluvia arising from 
the swamps along the banks of the river. When they finally 
arrived at Louisville in the early part of September, 1805, all 
hands were sick, and some unto death. 

A most cordial reception awaited them. People from all over 
the country flocked to the landing place with their wagons 
anxious to render aid. Those who arrived first, loaded up the 
baggage, and hauled it to its desdnation. Later comers finding 
no more baggage, contended with each other for the privilege of 
conveying the monks. Soon baggage, monks and all were safely 
landed at a farm house on Pottinger Creek, in the northern part 
of Nelson Co., about thirty miles south of LouisviUe, about ten 
north of Bardstown, and about a mile from Holy Cross Church, 
where Father Baden then had his headquarters. The property 
belonged to a pious lady, who offered the use of it to the Trap- 
pists, as long as they might wish to remain, reserving for her own 
use only, the product of every fourth or fifth fruit tree. Gaillardin 
describes the house as a frame building, ornamented by a portico, 
and says there were several log houses, close by which could be 



i6 

used as work-houses. Once at the house, the ovation began. 
Every farmer had come with his offering, bringing flour, Indian 
corn, vegetables, potatoes and even poultry. Everything was in 
abundance. The trees in the orchard adjoining the house, were 
laden with fruit, and brother Placide's garden was in a most 
flourishing condition. All were made comfortable and poverty for 
once, had to make a bed- fellow of plenty. But comfort and 
abundance could not stay the ravages of disease, nor shut out the 
grim visage of death. Of the entire community, but two could 
present themselves in choir, a religious and a postulant, and one 
of these, the religious had hemorrhages from the lungs. Father 
Baden took two of the priests, who were most dangerously ill, 
namely. Fathers Dominic and Basile, to his own house, and 
lavished the greatest care on them. They however, both soon 
died. ' At the farm house all recovered, except Father Robert, 
whose demise followed closely upon that of his brothers. Poor 
Father Urban, himself sick, was almost heart-broken at the loss 
of his priests. When the news of the first death was brought to 
him, he tried to bear up under the affliction, but when two days 
later, he heard of Father Basile's death, he turned his face to the 
wall, and gave vent to his grief in tears. 

Gaillardin ascribes the dreadful visitation to imprudence, in 
eating all kinds of fruits after long exposure, and want, on one 
hand, and on the other, to the too sudden change from the 
hardships and fatigue of travel to the ordinary austere life of a 
Trappist. He especially exonerates the climate. Father Nerinx 
in his common sense way of looking at things comes near the 
truth. He says, had he come down the Ohio, as the Trappists 
did, he would likely have been sick with the same fever. 

The clouds that hung over the colony at Pottinger's Creek, 
after its arrival, were soon dispersed. 

On the loth of October, 1805, re-inforcements arrived in the per- 
sons of Father Maria Joseph, four other religious, and a priest from 
Canada, who came to take the habit. Sorrow at once gave place 
to joy, and discouragement to confidence. A school was opened, 
and many young men of the country availed • themselves of the 
opportunity, to get an education, even though they could spare, 
but a few hours a day from their work. Over twenty children 
says Father Nerinx, were adopted, and the monks bound them- 



17 

selves to educate them and sustain them, until they were twenty- 
one years of age, without recompense. With mental training 
was combined mechanical; every boy having to learn a trade, and 
at the end of the term, the boys were to have the choice of going 
out into the world, or becoming postulants. The only obstacle 
in the way of the success of the school, was the inability of the 
monks to speak English. Yet teachers and scholars struggled 
along with admirable forbearance. 

As yet. Father Urban had not chosen a permanent location. 
Plenty of land had been offered, but it seems none suited. 
Toward the latter part of 1806, he heard of a fine tract of land 
for sale, on Casey Creek, in Casey County. He purchased it, and 
sent a colony to take charge of it under the leadership of Father 
Maria Joseph. Father Nerinx says the tract contained 1500 
acres of land, and cost $6000. He describes it as a fine piece of 
land, well situated, and well watered by streams, and locates it 
34 miles from Father Baden's Plantation. The colony, consisting 
of thirteen members, three of whom were Belgians, one a Rev. 
Mr. Doncke, and another Mr. Henry Rysselman, who later be- 
came a Jesuit brother, left Pottinger Creek, just before Christmas. 
The weather was extremely cold, and the trip to the new home 
difficult, on account of the wildness of the country through which 
they had to pass. When they lit their camp-fires at night, says 
Gaillardin, all kinds of wild beasts prowled around attracted by 
the light and warmth. The hardships did not end with the trip 
itself. There was little, if any clear land on the tract, and it is 
questionable, whether there was even a house upon it. When 
Father Nerinx visited the place, in 1807, he found fourteen monks 
" lodged in a double-frame cabin about as large as a ten-horse 
stable," to use his own words, and which was not even water- 
proof. Whether or not they built it themselves he does not say. 
As the warmth of Spring thawed out the ground, and they began 
to dig up the land which they had cleared during the Winter, 
snakes of all kinds, but particularly rattle-snakes, appeared in 
great numbers. In two days, says Gaillardin, they killed more 
than 800. Wolves, too, kept prowHng about. Yet in spite of 
all obstacles, the new settlement prospered under the spirited 
leadership of Father Maria Joseph, who brought to his monastic 
life the endurance and resoluteness to which he had been inured 



i8 

as a grenadier in the French army. At the time of Father 
Nerinx's visit, the monks were already engaged in building a 
saw-mill. Their comforts, if one can speak of the comforts of a 
Trappist, it is true, were as yet very few. Father Nerinx says 
"the dormitory, refectory and church," were all in one, and the 
only other rooms in the house were an apartment for the lay- 
brothers and a small place for storing provisions. The members 
of the community all slept on the bare floor. Father Nerinx and 
his guide were given the storage room and Father Nerinx had a 
bag of oats to sleep upon. In a short time, however, great 
improvements were made, and Casey Creek was so transformed, 
according to Gaillardin, as to merit the appellation of the place 
of rest. A chapel was built and a small congregation gathered 
together from the thinly settled country around, and the name of 
St. Bernard given to the parish thus formed. Only seven or 
eight Catholic families lived in close enough proximity to attend 
mass there, and they had formerly gone to St. Mary's, in Marion 
County. Some of the Protestant families, however, who lived 
close by and who had probably no church of their own, attended 
services in the chapel. In this way there was generally a good 
attendance at mass both on Sundays and Feast days. 

In 1807, at the time of Father Nerinx's visit", the community 
at Casey Creek had received two novices, one an Irishman and 
the other an American, and one member had likely gone back to 
Pottinger Creek, for Father Nerinx says they then numbered 
fourteen people at Casey Creek. How long Father Maria Joseph 
and his colony remained at Casey Creek is not positively known, 
as Father Nerinx does not refer to the place after 1807 ; and 
Gaillardin says nothing about the abandonment although he leads 
us to infer that it was not before 1809. Inasmuch as Pere Urban 
consulted Father Maria Joseph about moving to Louisiana, we 
may conclude that both settlements were kept up until the 
departure from Kentucky. Indirect evidence of the same fact is 
the frequent allusions which Mr. Henry Rysselman is said to 
have made in after life to his residence at Casey Creek, as a 
Trappist, until 1809. 

In regard to the mother colony at Pottinger there is little more 
to be said, and nothing, from a wordly point of view, that would 
add lustre to the name Les Trappistes. Judging from the tone of 



19 

Father Nerinx's letters to Bishop Carroll, its history can be read 
in the words wa7it, patient suffering and failure. Father Urban 
had not yet learned wisdom nor forsaken his Bohemian ways. 
He was ever looking out for a good location and never making 
use of present opportunities. Whether or not he ever owned 
land at Pottinger Creek I have not discovered, but probably he 
did not. The farm on which the colony was located was at their 
command as long as they wished to remain, and Gaillardin 
positively states that they did not own it. 

The graves of five priests and three lay-brothers in the church- 
yard adjoining Holy Cross Church are a sad commentary on the 
four years' sojourn of the Trappists in Kentucky. Who the two 
additional priests, and the three lay-brothers were, and when 
they died, is not stated. A reference to the records of Holy 
Cross Church, or to the tombstones, if there were any, might 
reveal the names and dates. The school was likely the redeem- 
ing feature of the settlement at Pottinger ; for the influence, 
which its light exerted upon the future generations of Kentucky, 
is acknowledged by Hon. Benjamin J. Webb, in his "Century of 
Catholicity in Kentucky." It, however, had the great difficulty 
to contend with, of a difference of languages between teacher and 
pupil. The monks did not learn English readily, and even after 
many years' residence in the country spoke it with great difficulty. 
To overcome this obstacle in the way of the usefulness of the 
Order, was the Gordian knot, which constantly challenged Pere 
Urban's ingenuity. Need we wonder, then, that while on a busi- 
ness trip to Baltimore, in 1808, he was persuaded, by the eloquent 
tongue of a son of Erin named Mulhamphy, to again change his 
base of operations and migrate to Louisiana, * where his own 
language was spoken, and he would receive encouragement and 
protection from the government. Mulhamphy offered him a 
house in Louisiana as a gift, if it suited the purposes of the 
Trappists, and if not, at least as a temporary home. Pere Urban 
triumphantly returned to Kentucky ; laid the matter before his 
community; took counsel with Father Maria Joseph and with 
him started on a visit to Louisiana in November, 1808. 

* It must be remembered that at the time referred to here, Louisiana 
took in nearly all that portion of country west of the Mississippi. 



20 



We can readily imagine what a trip through the west implied 
at that time, especially if taken in Winter. Yet Fathers Urban 
and Maria Joseph arrived at Louisville before Christmas. Both 
were delighted with the prospects in Louisiana. According to 
Gaillardin, an old Parisian named Jarrot, who had formerly been 
a steward with the Sulpicians in Baltimore, and who now lived at 
Cahokia, a small town in Illinois, about five miles south-east of 
St. Louis, offered Pere Urban a large prairie enclosed by a dense 
forest, and situated about six miles from St. Louis. It was then 
called the cantine, and contained excellent land but was most 
unhealthy. The Jesuit Fathers had occupied it at one time and 
had a church there, but had to give it up on account of the 
fatahty of the climate. In olden times it had been an Indian 
burial ground, and it was dotted over with seven or eight 
pyramids built of earth and measuring about i6o feet in circum- 
ference, and I GO feet in height. At present the place is called 
Monks' Mound. Father Urban accepted M. Jarrot' s offer, and 
having completed his business affairs in St. Louis, prepared for 
his return trip to Kentucky. Meanwhile Father Maria Joseph 
had already initiated himself in missionary work for which he saw 
a good field in St. Louis, and for which he had a special taste. 
He arrived in St. Louis on the vigil of Christmas and announced 
at once that he would celebrate midnight mass. The happy 
tidings spread rapidly, and Father Maria Joseph, when the hour 
for celebration arrived, found himself in the midst of quite a large 
congregation. The unfortunate people were overjoyed at the 
sight of a priest as they had been left without one for some time 
on account of the wickedness of many among them who had 
mobbed and driven out the Jesuit fathers. * Gaillardin tells a 
story illustrative of the perversity of the people of St. Louis at 
that time. He says a man sold his wife for a bottle of whisky ; 
the purchaser sold her for a horse ; and in a short time she was 
again sold for a pair of oxen. Yet Father Maria Joseph was 
kindly received. He was implored to remain and was asked to 
take the last sacraments to the sick. Crowds of people 
accompanied the Holy Viaticum with pious reverence. 

* Gaillardin says that some of the Jesuit Fathers were murdered and 
others tied to logs and floated down the Mississippi. 



21 

As Father Maria Joseph had, however, come on a visit only, 
he could not remain. He promised to return soon, and departed 
to join Father Urban. They started on the return trip in January, 
1809. 

If the journey out had been difficult, that going back was 
much more so. Winter had now fully set in, deep snows had 
fallen, roads were drifted shut, and in many places bridges had 
been swept away, and the ice was not strong enough to carry. 
In these emergencies Father Maria Joseph resorted to a trick, 
which he had learned from the natives, namely felling a tree 
across the stream and using it for a bridge. But as his traveling 
companion was somewhat stiffened by diseases, he invariably had 
to carry all the baggage and provisions over first, and then return 
to help him across. Sometimes streams had to be crossed again 
and again, at others freshets had suddenly so swollen creeks as 
to make them impassible, and the travelers had to go around 
them. Finally after much patient suffering and toil, they arrived 
at Pottinger Creek. 

The mandate at once was given to prepare for the journey to 
Louisiana. It being deemed more convenient to travel by water 
than by land, the first thing requisite was boats; and as Pere 
Urban did not wish to undergo the expense of hiring professional 
boat-builders, he set to work all the brothers, who had any 
practical knowledge of carpentry. Among them was Brother 
Palemon, an Irishman and an ex-colonel, probably the Irishman of 
whom Father Nerinx speaks as having joined the Order at Casey 
Creek. 

About nine miles from the monastery was Salt River, which 
flows into the Ohio. Though a small stream, it sometimes suddenly 
swells into an immense river, and as suddenly collapses. The 
Trappists decided to build their boats on its banks, hoping to be 
ready with the rise which was then expected, and to float down 
to the Ohio, on its borrowed impulse. In order to push the 
work as rapidly as possible, a temporary cabin was put up, and 
the workmen camped at the place, returning to the monastery 
only on Sunday. The task was soon completed and the flood 
came. Farmers flocked around to see them embark, and many 
accompanied them as far as the Ohio. 

According to Archbishop Spalding, Father Urban did not 



22 

accompany the colony down the Ohio, but crossed the Country 
to St. Louis, hoping to arrive there in time to send Canadian 
voyageurs down the river to meet his brethren at the junction and 
row the boats up the Mississippi. 

When the monks arrived at Cairo, they looked in vain for the 
boatmen, and hence had to debark and wait. They camped on 
the Illinois side of the river, says Spalding, and built a temporary 
cabin which they occupied for three weeks. Gaillardin says they 
waited eight days, and erected an altar under a large tree on 
which mass was daily celebrated and before which the office was 
chanted. He dwells at some length upon the presence of the 
astonished Indians in their savage costume and with their war 
paint on. Tired waiting and fearing that the promised aid might 
not arrive, the monks at last, says Archbishop Spalding, pre- 
pared to ascend the river by themselves. They fixed masts on 
their boats and rigged them out with sail; as they were ready to start 
the boatmen appeared. To the practised eye of the voyageurs it 
was at once apparent that the improvised sailing vessels could 
not ascend the Mississippi. The masts and sails had therefore to 
be taken down. Even rowing was impracticable, and the boats 
had to be towed by ropes. In this tedious manner they finally 
reached St. Louis one month after leaving the junction. 

At St. Louis Father Maria Joseph and the colony parted 
company, the former at once assuming his missionary duties, and 
the latter proceeding to the location, which Pere Urban had 
chosen for them. According to Gaillardin this was Monks' 
Mound, which has already been described, and according to 
Archbishop Spalding, it was a farm near Florissant in the 
northern part of St. Louis County, Missouri. Spalding says the 
monks continued their slow progress up the Mississippi River to 
its junction with the Missouri, and then up the Missouri to 
Florissant, where they landed. At the entrance of the Missouri 
into the Mississippi the current was very strong, and the ropes 
broke. None but the disabled were in the boats at the time, and 
the monks on shore had to helplessly look on while their sick 
brethren were rapidly carried down the river. After twenty-four 
hours, however, the boats were checked in their wild progress, 
and the difficult ascent again begun. At last, they debarked and 
proceeded to the farm. Here they remained until 1810, when 



23 

they removed to Monks' Mound. It is strange that Gaillardin 
says nothing about this settlement. Archbishop Spalding got his 
information from an old gentleman, who had lived with the 
Trappists for many years, and who therefore ought to be a good 
witness. Yet as he depended on memory for the reminiscence he 
gave, he must not be too readily accepted. Besides he may 
have confounded the missionary work of Father Maria Joseph, 
and possibly some of his brethren at Florissant, with a location of 
the entire colony. Father Maria Joseph's memoirs might throw 
some light on the subject. 

At Monks' Mound, the Trappists tried hard to make a per- 
manent establishment. They built seventeen little cabins, one for 
a church, one for a chapel, one for a refectory, and one indeed 
for every purpose that might suggest itself. These buildings 
were probably of logs and very primitive in their construction. 
Gaillardin says the place looked like an army's camp, from which 
we may infer that the cabins were very small. The history of 
this settlement is the same as that at Pigeon Hills, Pottinger and 
Casey Creek, only more gloomv in proportion as it was farther 
removed from civilization, and as the poor monks were more 
worn out by disease and hardships. Though the community 
remained there three or four years, nothing is positively known of 
their doings, except that they strictly observed their rules. 
Gaillardin, who is usually prolix in his descriptions, dismisses 
the subject with the statement in one place, that they went there 
and built a number of cabins, and in another that the settlement 
was a failure. Archbishop Spalding, too, has scarcely anything to 
say about the place. He tells us that they were there until 
March, 1813, and that during their stay two priests and five lay- 
brothers were consigned to their final resting place. Had Father 
Nerinx been near, we would know much more. It was the 
ambition of Pere Urban to carry the Gospel to the Indians; but in 
this, as in all other undertakings in America, he failed. Had he 
been able to maintain his institution at Monks' Mound, he might 
finally have accomplished what he desired, for the Indians were 
his next door neighbors, and were quite friendly with the monks. 
It was, however, impossible for the community to support itself, 
and besides, its members were rapidly dying off. When the 
colony broke up in the Spring of 181 3, there were likely not 



24 

more than nine or ten members left. How many had come from 
Kentucky, and whether any members had entered the Order at 
Monks' Mound is not known. We are equally in the dark about 
what became of the boys, whom the monks had pledged them- 
selves to educate at Pottinger. Likely they remained with their 
parents and friends in Kentucky. The command to break up 
camp at Monks' Mound came from Dom Augustine, the Superior 
of the entire Order, who had arrived in New York in the begin- 
ning of 1 8 13, and who had been informed of the condition of Father 
Urban's colony. Gaillardin says that Dom Augustine directed 
Father Urban to join Father Vincent de Paul's colony in Mary- 
land. He tells us nothing about the departure from Illinois, nor 
about the trip East, and indeed does not again mention Father 
Urban's name, until he speaks of the final departure of the 
Trappists from the United States. Archbishop Spalding enters 
into some details about the colony's exit from Illinois, its trip 
down the Mississippi and up the Ohio, but consigns it to oblivion 
at Pittsburg. He tells us that the property at Monks' Mound 
was disposed of, that some of the lay-brothers remained in the 
West, that Pere Urban and his brethren descended the Mississippi 
in a keel-boat, and that in ascending the Ohio, they encountered 
a great flood and almost fell into the hands of pirates. The 
information, however, that we would most like to have, namely, 
how many monks went East, who they were, and whither they 
went from Pittsburg, he fails to give us. Father Vincent de 
Paul, in his memoirs, states that Pere Urban and his brethren 
joined his colony in Maryland, shortly before its departure for 
New York, which was sometime in the early part of 18 14. 

A tradition among the people of the northern part of Cambria 
County, Pennsylvania, would lead us to believe that Pere Urban 
and his comrades did not go directly to Maryland, but made one 
final effort to locate in Rev. Dr. Gallitzen's district. That the 
Trappists had a settlement in Cambria County cannot be doubted, 
as a number of men who saw them there give testimony of the 
fact. There is, however, no known record of the matter. 
Father Lamden's statement, that Pere Urban's colony was in 
Cambria County, before it located at Pigeon Hills is undoubtedly 
erroneous. Possibly Dr. Gallitzen's letters may throw some 
light on the subject at some future time. For the present we 
must be satisfied with tradition and speculation. 



25 

Some years ago two very old gentlemen of Cambria County 
gave me their reminiscences about the Trappists in Northern 
Cambria. Although many of their statements are contradictory, 
some noteworthy information is scattered through them, 

Mr. Bernard Byrnes, one of the old gentlemen, said that the 
Trappists came to Northern Cambria,* in 1811 and left in March, 
1 81 3, and that they came from Loretio to their location, near the 
present site of Carrolltown; that they were four or five in number, 
one of whom was a priest, and that they spoke German ; that 
the brothers were low, heavy-set, awkward men, the priest tall, 
rather heavy and likewise awkward, and that all were of a dark 
complexion; that they ate but two meals a day, partook of neither 
meat nor butter, but subsisted on a paste made of flour and 
water, and on boiled potatoes and turnips ; that his father and 
others gave them oats wherewith to feed a cow, which they had 
brought with them ; that they located in the w^oods, on a small 
spot of clear land, about the size of a large potato patch, and 
that they planted some potatoes around the house ; that the men 
in the neighborhood w^ere allowed to hear mass in their chapel, 
but not the women, and that he himself frequently heard mass in 
their house ; that the altar in their chapel was very plain, and 
made of boards ; that the priest often traveled backward and 
forward between the settlement and Loretto, and frequently 
stopped with his father over night. Mr. Luke McGuire, the 
other old gentleman, stated that the Trappists came to their 
location in Cambria County in 1814, and remained there a few 
years ; that they were five in number; that they could not speak 
English, but spoke French ; that they lived in a w^ooden house, 
to help build which. Dr. Gallitzen had sent members of his 
parish ; that they were accessory to their own deaths, as they 
exposed themselves to cold and w^et ; that they started back to 
France, and that he hauled some of their baggage and one sick 
brother as far as Bedford, where he left them with a Frenchman ; 
that he had a letter from Dr. Gallitzen to Father Hayden at 
Bedford ; that when they got to Bedford, they found the town full 
of soldiers on their w-ay to Erie ; that the Luthers who were 

■^ The land on which the Trappists located in Cambria County be- 
longed at the time to Jacob Downing, a merchant of Philadelphia. 



26 

other old settlers of Cambria County, hauled some of their 
baggage, boxed up, to Loretto in sleds ; and that the sick brother 
was afterwards reported to have died on the way, between Bed- 
ford and Lancaster, two more brothers to have died at Lancaster, 
and all three to have been buried there. 

Both old gentlemen related interesting anecdotes about the 
monks, which I must omit. What I have cited from my notes, 
taken almost word for word, as related by them, is sufficient to 
place beyond dispute the fact that the Trappists were in the 
northern part of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, and that they 
were there sometime be.tween 1811 and 18 14. For their identifi- 
cation nothing is wanting but recorded evidence. I, myself, feel 
morally certain that they were Pere Urban and his brethren. 
The restless disposition of the priest, as described by Mr. Byrnes, 
exactly fits the character of Pere Urban ; and the broken-down, 
sickly condition of the brothers, implied in Mr. McGuire's account 
of their departure from Cambria County, is what we would 
expect in men who had undergone years of hardship. But the 
strongest argument of all is the fact that it could have been no 
one else. The whereabouts of all the Trappists who had come 
to America, can be accounted' for between the Spring of 18 13 
and the early part of 1814, except that of Pere Urban and his 
brothers. They left Monks' Mound in March, 1813, and came 
to Father Vincent de Paul's settlement in Maryland, in 18 14. 
At the longest, it ought not to have taken more than two months 
to make the trip. It is quite reasonable to suppose that the 
interim was spent on the Allegheny Mountains. Dr. Gallitzen 
may have accidently met them in Pittsburg and taken them to 
his mountain home ; or the little band may have sought out the 
great missionary. Princess Gallitzen, the reverend doctor's 
mother, had been a friend and protectress of the Trappists during 
the troublesome times in Europe, — how natural for this stray 
remnant of the refugee colony to seek out the illustrious son of 
their former benefactress. 

The history of the Trappist settlement in Cambria County is a 
fitting epilogue to the story of Pere Urban's work in America. 
Its very obscurity adapts it to its place. Much of what Messrs. 
Byrnes and McGuire have told us about it was no doubt dimmed 
by time and colored by imagination. Their dates and figures. 



27 

though probably wrong, serve, nevertheless, as landmarks by 
which we may find the truth. Mr. McGuire's reference to the 
Soldiers in Bedford, gives a reliable clew to the time of departure, 
placing that event in the latter part of 1813 or the beginning of 
1 8 14. Though Messrs. McGuire and Byrnes both state that the 
Trappists were in Cambria County two or three years, it is 
probable that they were there only from about May until 
December in 18 13. Mr. McGuire says they came in Spring, and 
both he and Mr. Byrnes state that they left in cold weather. 

The report preserved for us by Mr. McGuire about the death 
of the three brothers and their burial at Lancaster, must have 
had its origin in the vivid imagination of some sympathetic 
individual who had observed their delicate health. It is not likely 
that the monks even passed through Lancaster. Mr.* McGuire 
left them at Bedford, and as they were on their way to Maryland 
the most direct and convenient road would have lead them much 
south of Lancaster. What sad thoughts must have pervaded 
Pere Urban's mind as he repassed the same road, with his small, 
sickly band, over which he had lead the large stout-hearted colony 
nine years before. According to Father Vincent de Paul's 
memoirs, he arrived in St. Mary's County, Maryland, sometime 
in the early part of 1814. Nothing is said about the number of 
men he brought with him, nor about their condition. Both 
himself and his men were merged in Pere Vincent de Paul's 
colony and we do not again hear his name mentioned by anyone 
until the final departure from New York. 

Pere Vincent de Paul, according to his own memoirs, set sail 
from Bordeaux on June nth, 18 12, and arrived at Boston on 
August 6th. Strange to say, Gaillardin gives the time of arrival 
as June 6th, 181 1. This is probably a misprint, for Gaillardin 
appears to be a most careful writer. Pere Vincent brought with 
him three members of his order, one sister and two brothers. 
The intention had been to bring five sisters who were to introduce 
into America the female branch of the Order, but only one was 
successful in getting a passport out of France. The little band 
was kindly received at Boston by the Pastor of the town. 
Monsieur Matignon, who urged them to remain in the diocese of 
Bishop Cheverus. Pere Vincent de Paul, however, had orders to 
locate along the coast near Baltimore. After remaining at Boston 



28 

long enough to provide a temporary home for his brethren and 
get some needed rest, he started for Baltimore on foot. The 
Archbishop of Baltimore received him kindly and showed a 
disposition to aid him in his undertakings, but was evidently 
embarrassed for want of means. After a short while, a farm 
belonging to the Jesuits was placed at his command as a tempo- 
rary home. He accepted it and wrote to Boston for the two 
brothers, making arrangements at the same time to have the 
sister placed in a Convent there. Where this farm was located 
is not stated, but it is likely in the north-eastern part of St. Mary's 
County, Md., and near the place where he afterwards bought some 
land and established his colony. Meanwhile, a wealthy Balti- 
morean convert to the Catholic faith, offered him a tract of land, 
containing 2000 acres, on the mountains in Pennsylvania. It 
was situated near Milford in what is now Pike's County. The 
generous donor offered to send his son along as a guide if Father 
Vincent desired to go and view it. Father Vincent accepted the 
proffered services and at once started on his trip. His visit must 
have been very brief, and his inspection very unsatisfactory, for 
upon his return he immediately made preparation for a more 
prolonged visit. This time he took with him two young men 
who had applied for admission into the Order, permitting them 
to make the journey as part of their novitiate. The two brothers 
were left on the farm in Maryland. 

A sentence in Pere Vincent's memoirs conveys the idea that 
this second trip was made from Philadelphia. He states that the 
whole journey was made in silence and on foot, and in the next 
sentence referring to Milford, he locates it as sixty miles from 
Philadelphia, the starting point of the journey. Possibly this 
refers only to that portion of the trip which was made on foot. 
If Philadelphia was the bo7ia fide starting-point, the two novices 
were likely Philadelphians. Father Vincent de Paul was in 
Philadelphia in August, 1813, at which time he stopped with 
Bishop Egan, at old St. Joseph's, for at least one week. He 
baptized Rosetta De Silva On August 2 2d, Jane Havelan on 
August 29th and John Paul on August 30th. It was then that 
he started on his second trip to Pike County, for he says in his 
memoirs, that they made the journey in summer and in very 
warm weather. The only place along the route of which he 



29 

speaks is Milford. Here he celebrated mass on a Sunday, and 
had for his congregation all the people of the town, though there 
was not a Catholic among tliem. After mass the two young men 
gave some instructions on the Catholic faith. The people re- 
quested him to remain among them, and offered to take up a 
subscription for his support. One man promised to give fifty 
dollars. Father Vincent, however, had not come as a missionary, 
but to establish his Order. He accordingly proceeded with his 
companions to the farm, or more correctly speaking tract of 
forest land. The exact location of this piece of land is not 
known, but might be discovered through the aid of some of the 
oldest residents of Pike County. It was on the mountain not far 
from Milford nor very far from the Delaware River, hence it must 
have been north-west of Milford. 

Upon their arrival at the place, Pere Vincent and his com- 
panions built a temporary cabin out of branches of trees. In it 
they sought shelter at night, and from it they made their ex- 
cursions through the dense forests to inspect the land. As a 
guide, they usually had a boy or young man from the neighboring 
country. One day, when Pere Vincent and the boy were 
out together they lost their way, and were overtaken by night. 
Seeing a large flat rock close by, Pere Vincent suggested that 
they camp on it over night. " If we do," said the boy, "we 
will be devoured by bears." Soon after, such unearthly howls 
went up from the dense woods around, that Father Vincent was 
glad to continue his search for the cabin until he found it. Two 
weeks were spent in examining the tract of land, and two weeks 
of 'hardship they were to Pere Vincent and his novices. The 
bare earth had to serve them as beds, and during the first few 
days they had to depend on wild fruits for their sustenance. On 
the fourth day, a Jew and a Protestant came to their relief with 
potatoes. The Jew remained with them over Sunday and 
attended mass, evincing, says Pere Vincent, a great interest in the 
Catholic faith. During the two weeks, Pere Vincent said mass 
several times in the cabin. He gave religious instructions to a 
family consisting of father, mother and three children, and had 
hopes of receiving them into ^he Catholic church, but owing to 
the interference of a woman from Milford, was disappointed. 
One day his companions and himself made a cross and carried it 



30 

in procession for the distance of a mile, singing psalms all the 
way. The latter part of the route they walked in their bare feet, 
though rattle-snakes abounded, and at its terminus they planted 
the cross. Pere Vincent soon discovered that the tract of land at 
his refusal, was not a good site for a Trappist monastery. It 
consisted of rocks and marshes, was over-run by snakes and wild 
animals, and was too far from large towns and too difficult of 
approach. He would gladly have remained as a missionary, but 
bound as he was by his vows to the interest of his Order, he 
could not do so. In company with his novices, he accordingly 
retraced his steps to the shores of Maryland. As on his way up, 
so on the return trip, he tarried for a few days with Bishop Egan 
at old St. Joseph's, in Philadelphia. He is recorded as having 
baptized Ann Ehzabeth and John Sturges, twins, on October 4th, 
1813, Mary Ann Shields and Margaret Dorothea on October loth, 
and Mary Ann Norbeck and Edward Russell on October nth. 
He acquainted Bishop Egan of the ripening vineyard in the 
northern part of the State and advised him to send evangelical 
laborers into it, but the Bishop had no one to send. 

The part of Maryland to which Pere Vincent went, was the 
nortli-east of St. Mary's County, the most southern county of the 
State. He describes the place as being situated on the coast 
near the Patuxent River and not far from the Potomac. The 
Archbishop of Baltimore and the Sulpicians had long since 
advised him to establish his colony there. Many statements in 
his memoirs would lead one to believe that it was there he left 
the two brothers, and that he began the settlement before he made 
his trips to Pike County, Pennsylvania. This view gains addi- 
tional strength from the fact that three brothers, who arrived from 
France at the end of 181 2, or in the beginning of 18 13, are said 
to have joined the colony in Maryland. 

At what time the monks gave up the temporary home on the 
Jesuit farm and bought land of their own, and what distance the 
two places were apart, I have not been able to learn. Pere 
Vincent says that land was bought and its clearance at once 
begun. The colony lodged with a private family in the neigh- 
borhood until it had time to put up quarters for itself With the 
aid of the negroes of the vicinity, who, Pere Vincent says, were 
all Catholics, the brothers completed a log-house eighteen feet 



. 31 

square in a short time. Afterwards a chapel was begun but it 
was Hkely never finished. During the Winter sufficient land was 
prepared to make a potato-patch, a garden and a nursery. Pere 
Vincent speaks in terms of praise of the fertility of the soil ; 
hence, no doubt, the efforts at farming were successful. The 
colony was doing well, but as Spring approached, unlooked for 
enemies sprung up, which, as time wore on into Summer, grew 
to be almost unbearable. The effluvia from the marshes along 
the rivers breeded disease and pestiferous insects, and the great 
heat of the Summer was most oppressive. The colony, however, 
held out. for one season. Toward the end of 1813, it was 
augmented by the arrival of Pere Urban and his comrades. 
Father Vincent says that Pere Urban joined his colony just before 
its departure for New York. The only clew I have been able to 
find to the time when the Maryland settlement broke up, is in 
the baptismal records of St. Joseph's Church, Philadelphia. 
Father Vincent de Paul is there recorded as having baptized 
Sarah Ann Johnson on January i8th, 18 14, John Peter Scott, 
adult, on January 23d, and Peter Robert Mayot on the same day. 
These baptisms he must have administered when on his way to 
New York. Sometime before the departure from Maryland two 
brothers died and were buried in the orchard close to the house. 
Their surviving brethren, fearing that their graves might be 
desecrated when the property fell into other hands, before leaving, 
took up the bodies at night, and on the following day buried 
them in a cemetery at the nearest village. Possibly these were 
some of Father Urban' s sick comrades. 

As already intimated, Dom Augustine, the superior of the 
Order, and its rescuer in 1790, had come to America, to himself 
try to establish his Order. After a most unhappy voyage, during 
which he had been cast into prison at Martinique, upon the 
accusation of one of his own men, he arrived in New York in 
the early part of 1813, bringing with him several English and 
Irish monks from Lulworth. He at once cast about for a site for 
his monastery, and after a short while found a suitable property, 
which he purchased for ten thousand dollars. He called to New 
York, the colony in Maryland, thus gathering into one house all 
the Trappists in America, except Father Maria Joseph, who was 
still on the mission in Missouri. Barely enough survived to make 



one communitit)\ The exact location ol the monastery 1 have 
not been able to discover, but Father Vincent says it was situated 
on the plains not far from New York City. 

While looking- after the interest of his own house, Dom 
Augustine did not forget the sister, who was patiendy waiting at 
Boston for an oppor:unity to establish the female branch of the 
Order. He had hfer come to New York, procured for her a 
house near the monastery, and thus enabled her to establish a 
convent, though necessarily on a very small scale. Probably 
other sisters of the Order had meanwhile come over from Europe, 
and it is not unlikely that recruits had come in from natives of 
the country. Pere Vincent de Paul was appointed chaplain to 
the convent and also to an Ursuline Convent about three and a 
quarter miles from the monastery. He said mass at both places 
on Sundays and feast-days. At the Ursuline Convent he received 
three Protestant young ladies, boarding scholars, into the Catholic 
church. 

For awhile the Trappist monastery near New York flourished. 
Dom Augustine took charge of thirty-three children, most of 
whom were orphans, to feed, cloth and educate gratuitously. 
Many persons, both Catholic and Protestant, visited the place, 
attracted no doubt in a great measure by curiosity. Many con- 
versions to Catholicity followed, says Gaillardin and among those 
who embraced the faith were some Protestant clergymen. An 
especially large crowd was drawn to the vicinity of the monastery 
on the Feast of Corpus Christi, when the monks having erected 
altars, at inter c^als, in a large field, carried the Blessed Sacrament 
around it in public procession. In spite, however, of apparent 
success the monastery could not gain a permanent foot-hold at 
New York. Unexpected opposition sprung up, money was 
wanting, and there was a yearning 0:1 the part of many of the 
monks to return to France. In the Fall of 18 14, it was decided 
to return to Europe, and steps were at once taken to do so. The 
members were divided into three groups. One consisting of 
twelve members, including the sisters, was taken charge of by 
Dom Augustine himself; another numbering fifteen persons, was 
placed under the guidance of Pere Urban ; and the third, com- 
posed of seven people, under the direction of Father Vmcent de 
Paul. The first and second set sail in October, 18 14, in two 



33 

separate vessels. The third remained behind to close up the 
temporal affairs of the monastery and did not leave New York 
until May, 1815, when it set sail for Halifax on its way to Europe. 
At Halifax the ship was detained, and when it departed for 
Europe, Pere Vincent was by accident left ashore. Looking 
upon the matter as Providential, and knowing of no way to get 
to his brethern, he began at once to devote himself to a mission- 
ary life, in which he continued for many years. His life has been 
recently published by Miss Amy Pope, of Charlottetown, Prince 
Edward Island, to whom I am under obligations for a transcript 
of part of his memoirs. 

The only Trappist left in the United States after 18 15, was 
Pere Maria Joseph, who continued his missionary work in 
Missouri until 1820, when he likewise returned to France. At 
the request of his superior he published memoirs of his work in 
America. These I have not been able to get the use of, although 
a copy is extant in Canada. 




ERRATUM. 

Page 3, line 6, for SL Bernard read Beiino. 



